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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: track · chest · wound · bowl · racket · coach · calf · stem

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stem — to come from
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. track — a song
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. track — a path
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. chest — a box
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. wound — an injury
  24. racket — a loud noise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com